Derebe Madoro*, Aneleay Cherinet
Background: The security of students traveling to school is threatened by conflict. Sexual assaults against women who are in conflict settings were more common. In addition to having an adverse effect on girls' reproductive and psychological health, this lowers their academic performance. Despite being one of the countries most impacted by conflict, Ethiopia, there is little literature on the subject. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess sexual violence among female students in a conflict-affected area in south Ethiopia, as well as its effects and related variables.
Methods: A cross-sectional study based on an institution was carried out in south Ethiopia from April 1 to April 30, 2022. Through a simple random sample technique, 417 female respondents in all took part in the survey. The Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire were used to measure sexual violence (CECA-Q). With the use of bivariate and multivariate logistic regression, the relationship between the result and independent factors was examined. The 95% confidence interval was used to determine statistical significance at p 0.05.
Results: A 417 respondents were participated with a 98.5% response rate. Sexual violence was reported about 39.7% with a 95% CI (37.1, 42.7). The following factors were discovered to be significantly associated with sexual violence: Insufficient adherence to the code (AOR=4.27, 95 % CI 2.78 to 6.09); family history of violence (AOR=3.01, 95% CI=2.66 to 6.12); residing alone (AOR=3.57, 95% CI 2.06 to 6.19); no household conversation on health related issues (AOR=2.23, 95% CI 1.29 to 3.87); and a family that has been internally relocated (AOR=1.8, 95% CI=1.97 to 3.35). Out of 166 (39.7%) survivors of sexual abuse, 16 (9.6%) underwent miscarriages, and 26 (15.7%) experienced unwanted pregnancies. Psychological distress, PTSD, alcoholism, suicide, and homicide rates were reported to be 38%, 28.3%, 14.5%, 10.2%, and 9%, respectively.
Conclusion: As a result, the ministries of health, education, and humanitarian groups should cooperate to offer regular psychosocial assistance at schools as well as the proper intervention for pupils who have been affected by a conflict. In areas afflicted by war, the rule of law should be vigorously enforced to prevent sexual assault.
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